Mob Rules

2 Ratings: 1.0

A book by Cameron Haley

Starred Review. Haley's zippy debut introduces Domino Riley, the tough, streetwise lieutenant to 6,000-year-old gang boss Shanar Rashan. ("The LAPD thought he was Turkish. He was actually Sumerian.") When Domino investigates the grisly … see full wiki

Tags: Books, Fantasy Books

Author: Cameron Haley

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Luna

1 review about Mob Rules

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Truly stellar world building and fun supporting characters couldn't save this story with its wimpy romance and dull plotting.

Sep 22, 2010

by Abigail_ATUF
posted in Friends and Fans of Fantasy

Rating:

-1

Review courtesy of [...]

In MOB RULES the good is really good (amazingly creative world building and a feisty fun sidekick), but by comparison, the bad is really bad (a slow storyline that never picks up speed).

The main storyline in which magical mob enforcer, Domino, is trying to avoid a gang war while chasing down a nasty killer who skins and crucifies his victims in order to drain them of their magic sounds a lot more interesting then it is on paper. And that's not because Haley is a bad writer, he's not, but his pacing leaves a lot to be desired. The whole mystery could have been solved in three chapters but instead it drags on for fifteen.

I actually found myself getting mad that this very cool world building was wasted on a story that just meandered through this fascinating alternate L.A. in which Domino's familiar is Mr. Clean trapped in her TV, she contacts the dead through a Facebook type site, graffiti tagging can tap into juice (aka magic), and spells for everything from counteracting nicotine to all matter of cosmetic enhancements are triggered by famous quotes.

The other bright spots in MOB RULES were the scenes between Domino and a mischievous eight inch tall naked piskie named Honey. Honey felt like an import from a Stephanie Plum novel with lots of quick and quirky dialogue like this scene where Honey begrudgingly offers to teach Domino how to control her magic:

I laughed. "No offense, Honey, but you're eight inches tall. And you have a sword." I noticed the sword was missing. "Where do you hide that thing, anyway?"
"It's a secret."

Overall, the truly stellar world building and fun supporting characters couldn't save this story with its wimpy romance and dull plotting. There is a prequel in the anthology Harvest Moon coming out October 1, 2010, and the sequel called Skeleton Crew due out sometime in 2011 but I can't see myself picking up either.

Sexual Content: References to sex. A scene of mild sensuality.

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djevoke November 05, 2010

Great review! I had heard the same thing about this book and luckily decided to wait to put this one on my TBR list. Now, I'm glad I did. Have you read @DreamsAndSpeculation's review?

Abigail_ATUF November 05, 2010

I did read TJ's review. Sounds like we had the same problems. Too bad, I wanted to like this book.

djevoke November 05, 2010

Yeah too bad! I loved the idea of it too! But, I'm really glad that I read your reviews first ;p Phew.....nothing I hate more than getting excited for a book and being let down.

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